Watering of potted plants has long been an inconvenient task for commercial and at home users. Plants with dense foliage or blossoms are generally watered from the top, using a spray nozzle or a watering bucket. As some potted plants are hung from at an elevated height, the effort required to fully water the plants is even more challenging. Most of the water sprayed onto the plants runs down the dense foliage and end up on the floor. In order to direct most of the water into the soil of each potted plant, the user must push aside the dense foliage, locate the pot and pour water directly into the top soil. Water has to be applied relatively slowly in order to allow for absorption. As users of potted plants, in general, have more than one potted plant, the user is required to replenish the water of multiple potted plants at various points in time. This can often be quite laborious and time consuming. Users often forget the correct times to water certain potted plants, causing the plant to become dehydrated and die or not present well. There is a need in the industry for a viable method of controlling the water within the potted plant and provide a means of maintaining water within the soil so as to decrease the number of times the plant is manually watered. Additionally, there is a need within the industry for potted plant system that maintains water saturation of the soil at an optimum levels thereby providing maximum growth and plant development.
Various attempts have been made to alleviate the inconvenience associated with watering of potted plants. Devices such as: U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,179 (Johnson); U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,081 (Morrow); and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,193 (Otake), provide such examples of potted plant systems.
Johnson discloses a pot for plants primarily used for a hanging pot. The purpose of the Johnson is to provide for an aesthetically pleasing hanging pot. Johnson attempts to provide an aesthetically pleasing pot by providing numerous openings throughout the pot which are subsequently penetrated by stems and branches of the plant. As such, stems or main branches of the plant protrude through the openings and effectively conceal the pot. The pot described in Johnson contains walls with drainage openings that allow water to flow into the drainage tray. Johnson does not provide a mechanism of storing excess water that is subsequently used to maintain water saturation within the soil of the hanging potted plant. Additionally, the pot described in Johnson does not provide a mechanism for draining the excess liquid from the hanging potted plant.
Morrow discloses an improved plant and flower container of the hanging type comprising a pot having a removable false bottom to provide a compartment for collecting and storing excess water for subsequent absorption by the plant. Additionally, the pot disclosed by Morrow provides a method of providing a hanging means that is centrally located through the middle of the pot. Morrow does not provide a mean of draining excess water, thereby allowing the squelching the pot and essentially the drowning of the plant. Additionally, Morrow does not provide a means of transporting excess water, which is pooling at the base of the pot up to the middle of the soil, thereby ensuring most of the roots of the plant have access to the water. Morrow's pot allows for reabsorption through simple apertures at the bottom of the pot. Depending on the water level in the excess water collection dish, the apertures may provide a means of water reabsorption into the bottom of the soil. Furthermore, Morrow's hanging pot does not provide a means for expelling excess water. The user of Morrow's pot is required to unhang the pot and drain the excess water manually.
Otake discloses a horticultural pot that is constructed of multiple highly absorbent layers which provide increased water retention. The multiple layers of the Otake pot are comprised of a super-absorbent-polymer-powder layer and a peat-moss-powder lawyer, which are interposed between an inner wall material constituted by a jute layer. The material provides a natural material, rich in air permeability, easily compatible with the roots of plants to enter. The pot disclosed in Otake does not provide a means of controlling excess water nor does it provide a means of draining excess water.
As such, there is a need for a potted plant system that can overcome the drawbacks as described above. Indeed, there is a need for a potted plant system that provides a means to control excess water in a manner that allows the water to be reabsorbed by the soil within the pot thereby increasing the time between watering. There is also a need for a potted plant system that provides a quick and efficient means for expelling excess water.